I made the switch several years ago. I don't miss it at all. I did find that I have refined my right foot a bit more since dropping the double pedal, but that says more about me than anything else. I could easily have put that same work in before.

The types of music that I play and enjoy today don't lose anything because of the absence of that other pedal. I'm happy with my choice.

I've owned double pedals and used them and put them away, mostly I use a single as the music I play doesn't require it at all, but it's nice to have the option, I suppose. I say put your double in the closet, break out a single and play it like that. When the urge hits again, you'll have a double to use.

In my experience I've seen fellow drummers get rid of something, and then a few days, get a call from somebody looking to hire them because they had a certain piece of gear.

I actually just re-attached my double pedal to my V-drums and have started shedding a little. I always get the itch to get fast when I go through a death metal phase (like now). I'm gonna have some time during the day for the next two weeks so I'm gonna see if I can gain any speed in that time. If I don't see any improvements I'll probably get discouraged and back in the closet they'll go...

I use doubles for exercise. I have a blast with them even though I don't play music with bands that requires them. Playing doubles helps me with jazz and other genres of music that I play. I say keep messing around with them for the fun of it.

I switched for various reasons and I'm glad I did. I could never master switching between a groove that required opening and closing your hihat back to a double bass thing. That combined with having a double pedal made it to easy for me to cheat on doubles and triples. My favorite drummer plays single so amazingly that I knew to have a shot at playing like him I'd have to ditch the double and buckle down on my single technique. I play recreationally so I don't need to play double bass although I do hear some killer double bass songs that make me want to go back sometimes. Overall I feel like I'm a better drummer w/o the double, no regrets here other than trying to find that elusive perfect single pedal.

My main reason for wanting to abandon the double pedal is that playing anything with it always seems ostentatious. They're not subtle in any way, and I feel that they're only appropriate in very heavy music. But then I put on the live Chick Corea record (Tokyo Blue Note w/ Patitucci on bass and Vinnie on drums) and I hear Vinnie playing a double pedal on an 18" bass drum, and I figure, what the hell? :)

I feel like just because it's there doesn't mean I have to use it. Of course I wouldn't play "Back in Black" with 16" note running double bass, but if the music calls for it I want to be able to supply it.

I feel like just because it's there doesn't mean I have to use it. Of course I wouldn't play "Back in Black" with 16" note running double bass, but if the music calls for it I want to be able to supply it.

I feel like just because it's there doesn't mean I have to use it. Of course I wouldn't play "Back in Black" with 16" note running double bass, but if the music calls for it I want to be able to supply it.

That's certainly not an unreasonable position. I just think there is a very small percentage of music that calls for it, and I don't play any of it, which is why I went with a single. I was just using the double pedal for occasional flash.

Bob has an interesting take on it, using the double pedal as an exercise tool.

I did the switch a few years ago...and won't go back to double. I just like controlling the high hat all the time. There are so many different sounds you can get out of them.

This sounds more like a personal issue or comfort issue rather than a practicality issue and sorry to be so forward but is a ridiculous excuse as to why you would not use a double pedal. Either what you play or how you like to be creative calls for one or it doesn't. Not being able to play the hats properly or creatively because there is an extra pedal next to your hi hat pedal is a deeper issue in your skills or comfort behind a set. Not because a double pedal is useless. Honestly I am really taken back by the amount of "excuses" or explanations from people in the drum world as to why double pedals are not used by them or others. For some reason it's like the double pedal abused a family member at some point and now it's on everyone's **** list. It's another piece of drum equipment that has it's uses, get over it! If set up properly you only have to move your foot over a few inches to be fully on the footboard and I can play the hats perfectly fine with or without a double pedal. If you want to play them closed or open with double pedals get a hi hat clutch or get a set of remote hats to put to your right or left and keep them open or closed.

Really who gives a damn what you use to get the job done or to be creative with! Christ when did people start becoming equipment or hardware snobs?? Double pedals are NOT just used for constant 8th note doubles up to blazing 32nd notes. Watch a Benny Greb video and you'll understand there is no limit to how it can be used. Also there are plenty of highly regarded drummers out there that use them too, like Tony Royster Jr, Dennis Chambers, Chris Coleman and many more I'm sure. There are certain parts in songs that I like to jam to that call for straight 8th notes or even 16th notes and without a double pedal you can't play it properly (and no playing heel toe doubles on a single pedal and diddles on the floor tom like Mike Johnston doesn't count). Also many songs call for two quick 16th note doubles at the end of 8th or 16th note drum fills.

Like was said it's good to have it when you need it or want it. Don't want it hooked up, just want to play a basic setup for a while either for being creative or because the music or gigs call for it fine, disconnect it and put it away. If you play a mix of genres all the time it's probably best to keep it there.

Sorry for the rant but the idiocy that I see said about double pedals is getting to be ridiculous and tiresome.

To answer the original question, I stopped using the thing in the first place because the music I'm playing now (funk and old-school rock) simply doesn't call for it. The only time I used it was when I played some metal covers back in the day but even then it wasn't the crazy fast stuff. I was never that good at it so it hasn't changed my approach in that it wasn't really a huge part of my approach to begin with. If I end up improving my double bass skill it will be purely for my own satisfaction and maybe to do some recording of metal ideas I have.

I don't think it's necessary to abandon it completely unless it really does nothing for you. Otherwise keep it around. You never know, it may come in handy or you just might have a change of heart. It's not like it's a huge piece of gear to store.

I don't think it's necessary to abandon it completely unless it really does nothing for you.

I think it's gotten to that point. Like I said in my first post, it just sounds corny to me now. I seem to be drawn more to phrases that combine two or three sound sources , more hi-hat, and a lighter sound.

Ridiculous? Hardly. He prefers to devote his left foot to the hi-hat, and doesn't miss the double pedal.

Ridiculous might of been a bit harsh but I will say his reasoning is quite odd. I can devote my left foot to my hi hat pedal all day without getting hung up between the two. My comment wasn't directed completely at his post just in general.

Honestly, having an extra pedal next to the hi hat pedal should have no affect on your ability to play them how you want IF it's set up properly. Maybe he had too big of a gap between the main and slave pedal which put his hi hat further away from him than it should of. You may or may not be surprised at how improperly set up people's double bass pedals can be which will aid in their distaste for them. In fact my hi hat is probably no more than an inch or two at the most further away than it would be without the double pedal. It's almost as if the pedal isn't there.

Like I said there has to be a more practical reason other than "I can't control the hi hat or get the sounds I like from it."

Without the double pedal there, I find that you're forced to:
A) develop your right foot to higher degree
B) play something involving other sound sources that will probably sound more musical, less bombastic, and take up less sonic space

BUT, in some genres, the double bass drum (or double pedal) is a crucial component, so this criticism wouldn't apply.

I like my double bass pedal. Opens up all kinds of new vocabulary (kkrlrl, kklrlr, kkkklrlr, kkkrlr, etc ,etc). Same with independence stuff. 1/16 down there and paradiddle on top , etc, etc. could go on and on. The more the possibilities , the better .

This sounds more like a personal issue or comfort issue rather than a practicality issue and sorry to be so forward but is a ridiculous excuse as to why you would not use a double pedal. Either what you play or how you like to be creative calls for one or it doesn't. Not being able to play the hats properly or creatively because there is an extra pedal next to your hi hat pedal is a deeper issue in your skills or comfort behind a set. Not because a double pedal is useless. Honestly I am really taken back by the amount of "excuses" or explanations from people in the drum world as to why double pedals are not used by them or others. For some reason it's like the double pedal abused a family member at some point and now it's on everyone's **** list. It's another piece of drum equipment that has it's uses, get over it! If set up properly you only have to move your foot over a few inches to be fully on the footboard and I can play the hats perfectly fine with or without a double pedal. If you want to play them closed or open with double pedals get a hi hat clutch or get a set of remote hats to put to your right or left and keep them open or closed.

Really who gives a damn what you use to get the job done or to be creative with! Christ when did people start becoming equipment or hardware snobs?? Double pedals are NOT just used for constant 8th note doubles up to blazing 32nd notes. Watch a Benny Greb video and you'll understand there is no limit to how it can be used. Also there are plenty of highly regarded drummers out there that use them too, like Tony Royster Jr, Dennis Chambers, Chris Coleman and many more I'm sure. There are certain parts in songs that I like to jam to that call for straight 8th notes or even 16th notes and without a double pedal you can't play it properly (and no playing heel toe doubles on a single pedal and diddles on the floor tom like Mike Johnston doesn't count). Also many songs call for two quick 16th note doubles at the end of 8th or 16th note drum fills.

Like was said it's good to have it when you need it or want it. Don't want it hooked up, just want to play a basic setup for a while either for being creative or because the music or gigs call for it fine, disconnect it and put it away. If you play a mix of genres all the time it's probably best to keep it there.

Sorry for the rant but the idiocy that I see said about double pedals is getting to be ridiculous and tiresome.

Wow mate! Someone steal your cookie? The OP asked if anyone switched from double to single pedal...and I answered with my .02.

Of course it's a personal and a comfort issue. I played double for years, and got quite proficient at it (for the gigs I was in at the time). I still have the slave in its case...just never feel the need to bust it out anymore. On the practicality side, I just don't play the type of music that demands a double pedal anymore. Why the hell should I carry around extra gear that I probably won't use?

Not that I don't appreciate folks that can use a double pedal well, far from it. It's just not the sounds I enjoy or want to make myself.

But as I said before, I like to nuance the high hat...and it's not something you can achieve with a high hat clutch. I can legitimately get 20 to 30 different sounds,(and feelings) out of the high hat with my foot controlling it...maybe more. Cut that in at least half without being on the footboard.

I suppose I'm a bit more of a Steve Jordan wannabe than a Tim Alexander wannabe. Ridiculous to be sure.

__________________
It's better to sit in silence and be thought a fool, than open ones mouth and remove all doubt..

Most music isn't written for double pedal, that's the crucial point. If someone only plays double that will limit their repertoire to music written/adapted for it. In a real gig situation unless you were in a deathmetal band you wouldn't be on the double pedals all night.

Having said that Louis Bellson adapted doubles into jazz and Ginger Baker adapted them into blues. I thought both sounded OK but of course the music was crafted for that purpose. So yeah, you have to be selective about it.

Of course it's a personal and a comfort issue. I played double for years, and got quite proficient at it (for the gigs I was in at the time). I still have the slave in its case...just never feel the need to bust it out anymore. On the practicality side, I just don't play the type of music that demands a double pedal anymore. Why the hell should I carry around extra gear that I probably won't use?

Ok, see this makes more sense and should have been said in the first place. Sonny if you go back and read what you said originally you can't tell me that kind of comment wouldn't strike someone as a bit odd.

I still say I don't quite understand how having the extra pedal next to your hi hat pedal keeps you from constantly controlling the hi hat while playing music or beats with just the main pedal? Also like what was said above by Drumming: "Without the double pedal you are forced to develop your right foot." I don't understand that at all. Are you saying you don't have the mental discipline to keep your left foot off of the double pedal while you develop your right foot skills with just the main pedal? It's not like trying to keep from smoking or doing drugs, you're just keeping your left foot on the hi hat pedal instead of the slave pedal lol! Seriously, I don't understand that reasoning. Practicing my right foot skills is no more or no less effective with or without that slave pedal. The mentality of not being able to work on your right foot skills because there is a second bass drum pedal there is just very odd thinking. Also with the rest of your post, I don't understand how an extra pedal next to your hi hat keeps you from controlling the hi hat the right way when just using the main pedal of a double pedal? Do you or anyone else see where I'm going with this?

Whether the slave pedal is there or not should have NO affect on how well you can play or control the hi hat while just using the main pedal! Ok fine, you don't need the slave anymore and put it away but having it there should have no affect, NONE, on how well you play the hats while just using the main pedal of a double pedal!

Considering you asked. Other than the fact that his reasons for tossing out the double pedal don't cut it for you, I haven't got a clue.

Is the fact that he no longer wants to invest the time and effort into developing his double pedal skills really worth three posts of ranting angst?

Who said anything about his double pedal skills? Also I'm not ranting over his post, just the opinions I've seen about double pedals on the net in general.

All I am saying about his post is that it's odd to say that you can't constantly control the hi hat nor get the sounds out of the hi hats he wants because of the slave pedal being next to the hi hat stand. If that's the case how do 1000's of other drummers do everything and then some with their hats and with a double pedal setup? It was just a very odd comment as to why he would dump the double pedal. If you set them up properly it should have NO affect on being able to play the hats the way you want.

I don't care if he doesn't want to use them anymore. I just found his reason for making the change odd is all. There is absolutely NO reason why you can't control the hi hat the way you want to just because there is a slave pedal next to the hi hat stand.

I tried a while ago to stop using my double pedal and I just cant leave it at home for gigs. The studio kits I use, practice or recording have single pedals and I don't miss it. Its just something in my head that I fear I will need it for something and it wont be there. Classic rock songs we play don't use it but I always use it on endings.

There is absolutely NO reason why you can't control the hi hat the way you want to just because there is a slave pedal next to the hi hat stand.

I reckon you're reading a hell of a lot more into his post than was expressed though. Thought he just said he prefers to control the high hat all the time?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonnygrabber

I just like controlling the high hat all the time.

To me that just says that he can no longer be arsed with a slave pedal. Not that he can't play because of its very existence.

I'm not much fazed either way to be honest. But you did ask the question, remember. I merely responded. From where I'm sitting it appears you're vehemently countering a point he never made. And as such, I don't see where you're going with this.

Look man, I have no particular use for the slave part of my double bass pedal. It's extra crap to carry around for really no reason...for me. I have not said double bass drum pedals are useless or worthless. Quite the contrary....but,

1) it does take up room next to my foot, and like many drummers I like things to be just so. I am used to the fact that I no longer have the slave pedal there, (in my way?)
2) I do not play any music that [i]requires[i] a double bass. That is, I can manage just fine without it.
3) in one of my bands I lead sing about one third of the songs....call it a set. I sing backing in my other bands as well. Do I feel the need to complicate things? No.
4) I was only quickly responding to the OP's thread....and the very truth was spoken when I stated that "I like to control the high hat ALL the time". It's a subtle thing...for me, really, as I'm the one who gets to hear it exactly how I want it in the drivers seat.

Anyway.....meh

__________________
It's better to sit in silence and be thought a fool, than open ones mouth and remove all doubt..

Also like what was said above by Drumming: "Without the double pedal you are forced to develop your right foot." I don't understand that at all. Are you saying you don't have the mental discipline to keep your left foot off of the double pedal while you develop your right foot skills with just the main pedal?

No, but there are times when you're in the middle of a very intense section of the music, and it's crying out for some double bass work, and if you don't have the double pedal, you will find a way to satisfy the music without it, and that usually means extra effort with the one pedal.

Why use a double if you're just going to ignore it? If it's there, and the music calls for it, I'm going to play it. If it's not there, and the music calls for it, you find another way.

In a practice setup, sure, you may as well leave it there and work on both single and double approaches. I'm talking about actual performing situations. There is absolutely a mental aspect to whether you have it there or not, and your playing changes. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

I like my double bass pedal. Opens up all kinds of new vocabulary (kkrlrl, kklrlr, kkkklrlr, kkkrlr, etc ,etc). Same with independence stuff. 1/16 down there and paradiddle on top , etc, etc. could go on and on. The more the possibilities , the better .

Exactly.

I wouldn't play with only one stick...

Limitations - right off the bat.

I mean - you don't tape your right hand on a specific cymbal or drum. Why would you limit either of your feet to a specific cymbal or drum?

Using that logic, I would expect you to add a remote hi-hat pedal to your right, as well as another remote pedal to work the additional bass drum you'll want to add, not to mention a couple of timpani behind you. Why limit yourself?

Using that logic, I would expect you to add a remote hi-hat pedal to your right, as well as another remote pedal to work the additional bass drum you'll want to add, not to mention a couple of timpani behind you. Why limit yourself?

Limiting yourself is one of the greatest ways to develop.

lol! I love it.

I've actually done the remote hi-hat already... I ran out of room on the right side of my floor. I now just leave the second hat fixed on right side just to the right of my ride.

I don't do things behind me anymore - can't reach 'em. I love rows of stuff to hit. Look at Neil Peart - has an entire second kit behind him (although he just repeats the same thing from one side to the other).

I cannot argue against the development perspective. I've done weird things to improve my technique. The most fun was reversing my entire kit for 2 months - playing lefty. I'll just do things just to see what happens.

This week, I'm redoing rudiments with my youngest son on a drum pad. He said he wants to "play like daddy". So I picked up a pair of 7A's and a stool for him, and we're going shopping for pads.

I love the feeling of sitting behind a huge drum set, with two bass drums, at least six toms, ten or more cymbals, a gong, and some electronics. Those days are over for me though. I don't have the time or patience to set it all up (let alone transport it), and I don't know of any bands that would warrant it, let alone stages that would accomodate them.

I own a 5 string bass and feel the same way about the B string that you feel about the slave pedal but when there was finally a song my band played that could use the low string, it was worth all the trouble of dealing with a bigger neck/fretboard.

The slave pedal can be fit into just about any genre. When you don't need to use it, don't. When it can be worked in to improve a song, work it in. That's the beauty of playing percussion... limitless opportunity to use different tools and sounds to your advantage.

You people are missing the point of my original post. I fully realize that you don't need to use the pedal just because it's there, and that it offers more options, but I was specifically asking to hear about others' experience going from one to two and what that did to their playing.

I play double pedal for my heavier gigs and single for my lighter ones. It's like a guitarist using different rigs for different gigs.

The different setup makes me approach the drums a little differently. Neither way is "limiting yourself". You still have all your limbs and can use them creatively.

I have a thought-provoking comment for all of us here. When I see phrases like "the slave pedal can be fit into just about any genre", I get nervous because there are actually very few genres in which double pedal actually works. Certainly not most jazz, country, pop, blues, latin, hip hop and R & B songs. I mean, just listen to the music that most people listen to and try to find the double bass.

If it's not high energy rock, fusion, metal or a solo, how much double bass is there in contemporary music? Not much.

I can totally see why a drummer might not even bother with double bass and not feel as if he was limiting himself.

__________________
Either you have a purpose behind your expression... or you don't.
JoJo Mayer

You people are missing the point of my original post. I fully realize that you don't need to use the pedal just because it's there, and that it offers more options, but I was specifically asking to hear about others' experience going from one to two and what that did to their playing.

When I went to double bass (after 10 years without one), I woke up as a drummer.

Changed my entire musical outlook and future. I'm pissed I didn't get one sooner. May have helped advance my abilities. Can't imagine how good I would have been if I had started with it (or how much different/versatile I may have been).

There's definitely a fun factor to having the options of a double pedal...if you can establish some ease with it.. I own all double pedals but rarely set them up that way. It's used more as a crutch most usually and I think it's more intriguing to play simply and still draw people in....

When I first started playing drums 20 years ago, I almost immediately bought a 2nd bass drum and another pedal. Thank Lars for that......

After playing drums on and off and a long layoff, I returned to drums about 2 years ago and decided to go "back to basics" and run a single pedal.

I feel like I'm better now than ever on drums due to this change. I feel the groove more and feel like my time is infinitely more steady. I've never had a lesson and I'll admit that I don't keep time on the hi-hat with my left foot but I just feel more solid overall on the set and it translated upstairs to my hands as well.

I hear some nice double-bass parts that other drummers throw into some simple songs that our band covers and I'll admit that I think "Damn that sounded awesome!" But overall I plan on sticking with single pedal for the rest of my drum "career." (And by career, I mean my typical rock cover band playing small bars.)

As to the OP question way back there....
I just stopped feeling like I wanted it. I had 2 bass drums for about 8 or 9 years (single before that), then a Camco double back in 90. Used it for some years and then just didn't want to anymore.

I didn't do the extended "dugga dugga dugga"or speedy stuff in my bands. I used it more like Ginger Baker, and how Carmine used it on some of his stuff. I was into Tommy Aldridge too.

My tastes in playing changed, along with what the bands songs needed--which was whatever I wanted to play that fit haha! the stuff they started doing just didn't need anything I couldn't do with one foot.

I've toyed with the idea of using one again, but, I just don't feel it.

I can do a lot with my one foot anyway, and it sounds cooler to me that way, or between a tom and the bas drum for that kind of pattern.
I also like not having to use one for doing something that sounds"cool" in the drummy sort of way. I've worked on my foot, and like what I've achieved, and it feels right for me to just have a single pedal.